11-05-2025
Stormy conditions do not deter 'the mullet men'
Every year, when the temperature drops at Easter, hordes of mullet migrate out to sea to spawn - this is the mullet run.
Greg Tarrant is a fourth-generation angler who, along with his dad and son, spends six weeks catching the fish by the tonne.
There's no fancy equipment and no idle hands. The crew, colloquially called the "mullet men", net the fish by hand and haul them onshore with a ute.
Tarrant's crew starts at Stockton and follows the migration up to Fingal Bay.
They keep a close eye out for dark patches of fish in the water.
Mr Tarrant said it was a basic operation that required hard work and patience.
The crew battled head-high waves to net thousands of fish at a time and, when the water was choppy, they often get the "shit belted out of them".
"If it was nice and calm, it's a lot easier, but you gotta do what you gotta do," he said.
Almost 150 millimetres of rain hit the Hunter at the end of April, which flushed fish from the estuaries earlier than usual.
Last week, the crew netted 35 tonnes in one day at Fingal Bay beach.
During the catch, they had to cut their nets and cage the fish at the edge of the shoreline before the tide rose.
Two sharks were spotted lurking around the catch.
Mr Tarrant said it was common to see nurse sharks and bronze whalers, but that they had never had any "dramas" with them.
"Touch wood, no one's been bitten," he said.
A fishing boat off Port Stephens had a near-miss with a five-metre great white shark in February.
The job doesn't come without criticism. Mr Tarrant said people often commented that what he was doing was wrong, and that it was being greedy.
"We're not hurting the numbers of them," he said.
"These fish have been turning up year after year, for hundreds of years," he said.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development spokesperson said the mullet run was "one of Australia's most sustainable" fishing practices.
About 3000 tonnes of mullet are caught annually in NSW, and, according to the 2023 NSW Stock Status Summary, the sea mullet numbers are sustainable.
"None of the catch is wasted and the extensive value adding that occurs contributes to the state economy, regional employment and the viability of the commercial fishing industry," the spokesperson said.
Fishers in the mullet run follow rules set out in NSW Fisheries Management legislation.
For Mr Tarrant, this season is shaping up to be much better than past years, and he hopes to get a few hundred tonnes before the run finishes at the end of May.
Every year, when the temperature drops at Easter, hordes of mullet migrate out to sea to spawn - this is the mullet run.
Greg Tarrant is a fourth-generation angler who, along with his dad and son, spends six weeks catching the fish by the tonne.
There's no fancy equipment and no idle hands. The crew, colloquially called the "mullet men", net the fish by hand and haul them onshore with a ute.
Tarrant's crew starts at Stockton and follows the migration up to Fingal Bay.
They keep a close eye out for dark patches of fish in the water.
Mr Tarrant said it was a basic operation that required hard work and patience.
The crew battled head-high waves to net thousands of fish at a time and, when the water was choppy, they often get the "shit belted out of them".
"If it was nice and calm, it's a lot easier, but you gotta do what you gotta do," he said.
Almost 150 millimetres of rain hit the Hunter at the end of April, which flushed fish from the estuaries earlier than usual.
Last week, the crew netted 35 tonnes in one day at Fingal Bay beach.
During the catch, they had to cut their nets and cage the fish at the edge of the shoreline before the tide rose.
Two sharks were spotted lurking around the catch.
Mr Tarrant said it was common to see nurse sharks and bronze whalers, but that they had never had any "dramas" with them.
"Touch wood, no one's been bitten," he said.
A fishing boat off Port Stephens had a near-miss with a five-metre great white shark in February.
The job doesn't come without criticism. Mr Tarrant said people often commented that what he was doing was wrong, and that it was being greedy.
"We're not hurting the numbers of them," he said.
"These fish have been turning up year after year, for hundreds of years," he said.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development spokesperson said the mullet run was "one of Australia's most sustainable" fishing practices.
About 3000 tonnes of mullet are caught annually in NSW, and, according to the 2023 NSW Stock Status Summary, the sea mullet numbers are sustainable.
"None of the catch is wasted and the extensive value adding that occurs contributes to the state economy, regional employment and the viability of the commercial fishing industry," the spokesperson said.
Fishers in the mullet run follow rules set out in NSW Fisheries Management legislation.
For Mr Tarrant, this season is shaping up to be much better than past years, and he hopes to get a few hundred tonnes before the run finishes at the end of May.
Every year, when the temperature drops at Easter, hordes of mullet migrate out to sea to spawn - this is the mullet run.
Greg Tarrant is a fourth-generation angler who, along with his dad and son, spends six weeks catching the fish by the tonne.
There's no fancy equipment and no idle hands. The crew, colloquially called the "mullet men", net the fish by hand and haul them onshore with a ute.
Tarrant's crew starts at Stockton and follows the migration up to Fingal Bay.
They keep a close eye out for dark patches of fish in the water.
Mr Tarrant said it was a basic operation that required hard work and patience.
The crew battled head-high waves to net thousands of fish at a time and, when the water was choppy, they often get the "shit belted out of them".
"If it was nice and calm, it's a lot easier, but you gotta do what you gotta do," he said.
Almost 150 millimetres of rain hit the Hunter at the end of April, which flushed fish from the estuaries earlier than usual.
Last week, the crew netted 35 tonnes in one day at Fingal Bay beach.
During the catch, they had to cut their nets and cage the fish at the edge of the shoreline before the tide rose.
Two sharks were spotted lurking around the catch.
Mr Tarrant said it was common to see nurse sharks and bronze whalers, but that they had never had any "dramas" with them.
"Touch wood, no one's been bitten," he said.
A fishing boat off Port Stephens had a near-miss with a five-metre great white shark in February.
The job doesn't come without criticism. Mr Tarrant said people often commented that what he was doing was wrong, and that it was being greedy.
"We're not hurting the numbers of them," he said.
"These fish have been turning up year after year, for hundreds of years," he said.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development spokesperson said the mullet run was "one of Australia's most sustainable" fishing practices.
About 3000 tonnes of mullet are caught annually in NSW, and, according to the 2023 NSW Stock Status Summary, the sea mullet numbers are sustainable.
"None of the catch is wasted and the extensive value adding that occurs contributes to the state economy, regional employment and the viability of the commercial fishing industry," the spokesperson said.
Fishers in the mullet run follow rules set out in NSW Fisheries Management legislation.
For Mr Tarrant, this season is shaping up to be much better than past years, and he hopes to get a few hundred tonnes before the run finishes at the end of May.
Every year, when the temperature drops at Easter, hordes of mullet migrate out to sea to spawn - this is the mullet run.
Greg Tarrant is a fourth-generation angler who, along with his dad and son, spends six weeks catching the fish by the tonne.
There's no fancy equipment and no idle hands. The crew, colloquially called the "mullet men", net the fish by hand and haul them onshore with a ute.
Tarrant's crew starts at Stockton and follows the migration up to Fingal Bay.
They keep a close eye out for dark patches of fish in the water.
Mr Tarrant said it was a basic operation that required hard work and patience.
The crew battled head-high waves to net thousands of fish at a time and, when the water was choppy, they often get the "shit belted out of them".
"If it was nice and calm, it's a lot easier, but you gotta do what you gotta do," he said.
Almost 150 millimetres of rain hit the Hunter at the end of April, which flushed fish from the estuaries earlier than usual.
Last week, the crew netted 35 tonnes in one day at Fingal Bay beach.
During the catch, they had to cut their nets and cage the fish at the edge of the shoreline before the tide rose.
Two sharks were spotted lurking around the catch.
Mr Tarrant said it was common to see nurse sharks and bronze whalers, but that they had never had any "dramas" with them.
"Touch wood, no one's been bitten," he said.
A fishing boat off Port Stephens had a near-miss with a five-metre great white shark in February.
The job doesn't come without criticism. Mr Tarrant said people often commented that what he was doing was wrong, and that it was being greedy.
"We're not hurting the numbers of them," he said.
"These fish have been turning up year after year, for hundreds of years," he said.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development spokesperson said the mullet run was "one of Australia's most sustainable" fishing practices.
About 3000 tonnes of mullet are caught annually in NSW, and, according to the 2023 NSW Stock Status Summary, the sea mullet numbers are sustainable.
"None of the catch is wasted and the extensive value adding that occurs contributes to the state economy, regional employment and the viability of the commercial fishing industry," the spokesperson said.
Fishers in the mullet run follow rules set out in NSW Fisheries Management legislation.
For Mr Tarrant, this season is shaping up to be much better than past years, and he hopes to get a few hundred tonnes before the run finishes at the end of May.
